Category Archives: Celebrations

11 Year-End Superlatives for 2017

At the end of 2016, I did a post with 11 superlatives for the year. This year, I’m making it an annual tradition! As we approach 2018, it’s been fun to look back on 2017 and reflect on the good, the bad, and the ugly. Here we go!

1. Biggest Milestone: Launching this blog! The new name and layout felt like coming home…like this was always where my blog was supposed to be. And since the launch, I’ve been better about posting more regularly, which has been an exciting achievement!

Fairly Southern | Blog | Welcome to my fair trade, eco-friendly, socially conscious front porch

2. Hardest Challenge: My family lost a sweet pup this year, and we have had several other losses and trials within our wider family circle that perhaps haven’t had an enormous direct impact on me personally, but that I have certainly felt and grieved over. I also struggled with some anger and anxiety from a political perspective earlier in the year. I honestly had to disengage myself somewhat from politics and the news in order to cope. I’m not super happy about this, as I think it’s important to be informed and involved, but my mental health just couldn’t take it anymore. All in all, I hesitate to truly label any of these things as “challenges” because they certainly don’t compare to finding out that, say, you yourself have cancer, but they were the tough parts of life that we struggled with this year. Read More

Most Popular Blog Posts of 2017

How in the WORLD is 2017 already coming to a close?? This year was jam-packed full of life, and you know what they say: Time flies when you’re having fun!

To celebrate another great year of blogging, I’ve pulled the top five most frequently visited blog posts on Fairly Southern in 2017. Starting with number 5:

5. 11 Year-End Superlatives for 2016. Good thing you loved this one, because my superlatives for 2017 will be coming to the blog next week! Hooray!

PowerSheets Goal Setting Workbook by Lara Casey/The Cultivate Shop | Trés Belle

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Ethical Valentine’s Day Outfit

Happy Valentine’s Day, belles!

I have always loved Valentine’s Day, regardless of whether I’ve had a significant other or not. I adore love and warm, fuzzy feelings. I love celebrating all of the important people in my life who I love, including my friends and family members. I love the excessive amounts of pink and glitter, and of course, I love the chocolate!!

I’m keeping it fair trade on the day of love this year in this black and gold dress by Threads 4 Thought (it’s hard to see the gold in the photos, but I promise there is gold thread in the stripes!). Am I the only person wearing black on Valentine’s Day? I think the black is sophisticated, while the gold adds a festive touch. And I love that the dress is work appropriate, but also cute for an evening out. Not having to change or think about multiple outfits = winning in my book.

Fair trade black dress by Threads 4 Thought | Fairly Southern

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Ethical Fashion Gift Guide on Just Jess

This week I wrote an ethical fashion gift guide guest post for my friend Jessica’s “12 Days of Gift Guides” on her blog, Just Jess! If you’ve still got some holiday shopping to do, go check it out. There are suggestions for UNC fans, Carolina Panthers fans, yogis, fashionistas, and above all, folks who care that the things they wear are doing good in the world.

Angela Roi vegan leather cross-body bag on the Just Jess Ethical Fashion Gift Guide | Fairly Southern Read More

Easy, Faux Boarding Pass Gift Idea

I’m a little behind the times here, seeing as how Valentine’s Day was a month and a half ago (what??), but I still think this is too cute not to share! Real talk, y’all: men are so hard to shop for. Give me a lady to shop for any day. When in doubt, a great smelling candle or cute scarf are an easy fall-back. But men? Gosh. And especially if your fella is like mine and isn’t huge on sweets or alcohol (how are we even married??).

Hubs already has most of the “things” he needs, so I decided to gift him a weekend trip for Valentine’s Day this year. I still wanted him to have something fun to open, and I came up with the idea to print faux boarding passes detailing our weekend destination. Thankfully, many others have also come up with this idea in the past, and there are lots of fun boarding pass templates out there on the interwebs. I’m sharing the one I used to save y’all the trouble of having to click through 218 templates and Google images like I did in order to find THE one.

Easy, Faux Boarding Pass Gift Idea | Fairly Southern Read More

Wedding Anniversary Celebrations

Wes and I celebrated our one year wedding anniversary yesterday. I can’t believe it! The past year (and especially this summer) has flown by, and all of a sudden we have graduated from being “newlyweds.” We made a pretty big deal out of celebrating this anniversary (we made it through some major milestones and trials this year!), and I am sharing so that others can steal ideas and maybe share some traditions of their own!  Read More

Internet Roundup: Touchy Bridesmaid Topics, Budget-Friendly Bachelorette Party Planning, and More!

Hello hello belles, and welcome to the latest edition of what I’m loving around the Internet lately. All of today’s links feature bridesmaid-related topics. We’re talking bachelorette parties, prepping your gals for the big weekend, and more!

1. 10 Things All Brides Should Tell Their Bridesmaids Before the Wedding. You will have much less stress and confusion if everyone is on the same page!

10 Things All Brides Should Tell Their Bridesmaids Before the Wedding, via Brides - Fairly Southern
via Brides

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Bachelorette Party Idea: A Private Wine Tasting Soiree

Are you looking for a fun and fresh idea for your bachelorette party? Look no further! What could be better than your own private wine tasting? Wines for Humanity, a wine tasting company serving Wake, Durham, Orange, Granville, and Person Counties in NC, brings the fun to you by traveling to your personal residence for a wine tasting. As you sample, your wine consultant will teach you how to taste wine and pair the various wines with food. The best part? They help prevent homelessness by donating 12-17% of their proceeds to a local organization that helps community members who are struggling with their utility bills. Oh, and LivingSocial is currently offering a discounted deal one one of their wine tasting packages, so that’s pretty fabulous as well.

Private Wine Tasting Bachelorette Party - Wedding Belles Blog
via Sharrott Winery

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